


Family Ties

by A Magiluna Stormwriter (ariestess)



Category: Practical Magic (1998)
Genre: Bechdel Test Pass, Family Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-04
Updated: 2013-05-04
Packaged: 2017-12-10 08:54:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/784198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ariestess/pseuds/A%20Magiluna%20Stormwriter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ever since they came to live with us, I've had an almost preternatural attunement to my elder grand-niece.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Family Ties

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hardly_loquacious](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hardly_loquacious/gifts).



> More in-depth notes to come.

"Aunt Jet, why did you request that I work with you alone today?"

Kylie's question isn't a surprise, not in the slightest. And that's not just because I made that exact request when Gillian offered to watch the girls today so Franny and I could get some work done in the gardens. Ever since they came to live with us, I've had an almost preternatural attunement to my elder grand-niece.

"I thought you might like to have an afternoon off from helping your mother at the store today," I say with a bright smile. "It's so beautiful out and your Aunt Franny's got a bit of the wanderlust today. Even though the herb gardens are in a sorry state, she just can't concentrate enough to keep from pulling plants and leaving the weeds behind."

Kylie's embarrassed, girlish giggles pull similar from the depths of my own soul. Youth really can be wasted on the young, particularly in the Owens family, but I'm hoping that won't happen with this one or her sister.

"I can help you with that. Um, let me go change first, and I can bring us some iced tea maybe?"

Grinning, I shoo her off toward the house before returning to pruning the rosemary bushes. The soft buzzing hum of the bees lulls me into a kind of meditation that I've always fallen into so very easily over the years. Time becomes meaningless as the earth's rhythms intertwine with my own, heart slowing to a steady thrum that echoes up through the dirt beneath me. A light breeze wafts through the garden, bringing with it the scent of the honeysuckle blooming on the other side of the house. It blends with the rosemary and lavender I've planned to work with today, sparking my attention without distracting me.

"Okay, Aunt Jet," Kylie says, pulling me from my reverie. "I put the tea in bottles so we don't spill it. I thought we could add a few springs of the chocolate mint for flavor." She pauses, chewing at her bottom lip for a moment. "Or maybe the catmint would be better with a couple of the lavender blooms?"

Leaning back to stretch cramping muscles, I tilt my head and study her. She's changed into comfortably worn denim shorts and a faded t-shirt advertising her mother's shop on the front. Her long strawberry blonde hair is pulled back into twin braids that dangle over her budding breasts. A glance down confirms that she's chosen to forego shoes entirely. She is so much like her mother sometimes, it's painful to watch. Kylie's pale eyes flicker back and forth over various herbs in the garden, teeth working at her lip steadily.

"Don't overthink it, dear," I say softly. "Trust your instincts, girl. Let it wash over you. You know what you want to use. Just go with it."

Eyes flutter shut now, and she takes a deep breath, and then another. Moving unerringly, but with a distinct lack of urgency, Kylie's feet guide her through the garden to pull a blossom here and a leaf there, dropping each piece of her bounty in the outstretched bottom of her shirt. After a moment or two, she returns to kneel next to me with a soft sigh. I remove the lids from our insulated bottles for her, smiling as the ice clinks against the sides. Eyes still closed, she begins the painstaking process of blending her bounty with the sun tea I made yesterday. Chocolate mint, chamomile flowers, and lavender go into one bottle. The other becomes home to catmint, peppermint, and more of the lavender. Each ingredient is lightly crushed to release the scents and flavors into the tea until we're surrounded by an invisible cloud of incredible aromas.

She sighs again, shaking her head slightly, and blinks long lashes to meet my gaze openly. Without hesitation, she caps both bottles and shakes them slightly before studying the two bottles. A small smile plays at the corners of her lips as she hands me one unopened. I can feel the faint buzz of magic as our fingers brush in the hand off, but don't bother to stifle the little giggle that erupts from my diaphragm like butterflies startled from a field of flowers.

"Is it--" She pauses and shakes her head. "Taste it, Aunt Jet. I think I know which one I gave you, but I want to be sure I picked it correctly."

Without hesitation, I open the bottle and am met by the heady blend of peppermint and lavender. If I concentrate, I can pick out the catmint, though most people would lose its pungency in the wake of the other stronger ingredients. The bottle comes to my lips and the bitter tea passes across my tongue, tempered by the added flavors and the ice. Swallowing, I smile broadly at her.

"Well done, Kylie. This is exactly what I needed."

Her face lights up with pride before she takes a long drink from her own bottle. "I should have put more chocolate mint in mine," she says after licking her lips. "But I'm okay with mine, too. So what should I work on, Aunt Jet?"

"Why don't you go weed around the onions and carrots, dear? I didn't get to those yet this week, so they might be something of a fright. I do apologize for that."

Getting to her feet, Kylie laughs. "So you're giving me a challenge then? See if I can remember what an onion shoot and carrot greens look like? You're not going to trick me, you know. I'm not as gullible as Antonia can be about which ones are weeds and which ones are the right plants."

We fall into a companionable silence for several moments, going about our work. The gentle breeze and soft buzzing of the bees lulls me until I yawn. Without thought, I drop a small sprig of the rosemary into my tea. The sharp tang is immediate and refocuses me. It'll be enough for me to finish this work today. A witch's gardens are a neverending series of tasks, but the benefits one can reap are well worth it. The soft weight of a hand on my shoulder startles me, and I realize just how long I've been at this today.

"Aunt Jet, I got the weeding done around the carrots and onions," Kylie says softly. "There wasn't that much there actually, so I checked the tomato plants, too." Her eyes narrow in the same way her mother's do when she's assessing something. "How about you go sit in the shade and I'll finish up the lavender for you? You've probably been at this all day, and I should get to know these gardens as well as you do. A witch is only as good as her knowledge of her tools, right?"

I find myself mirroring her knowing smirk and let her help me to my feet. Pulling her into a hug, I revel in the connection that we Owens women always seem to maintain with each other, no matter what. "You know, you're a lot wiser than your years, Kylie. Keep this up much longer and you might surpass your mother's abilities." I kiss her cheek and move to the table in the shade of the grand oak tree. "Just don't ever tell her I told you that."

Kylie's laughter filters across the air to me as she leans over the lavender and begins the painstaking process of communing with the plants to determine which flowers can be taken and which should be left for another day. "Do you really think she doesn't know? She is your niece, after all."

That revelation, combined with the familiar smirk on her face, makes me laugh at the veracity of her words. That she is indeed. Both of them.


End file.
